Chapter Twelve
Buffy stirred at the sound of her name being called. It took her seconds to realize what was going on, the shock clearly present on her face as she moved swiftly to her feet. Tara moved to block any escape, trapping the blonde Slayer between herself and the wall. She felt like a cornered animal and judging by the way Tara was looking at her, she probably looked like one too.
"Tara, you don't want to do this," Buffy replied tentatively.
Tara smiled. "Of course I do," she replied flippantly. "But Faith's going to do it instead. You get kinda starved when you first start." She winked.
Faith swallowed, trying not to think of anything. Instead she focused on the thirst boiling a rage within her, burning every vein. Tara placed a warm hand on Faith's shoulder and slowly guided her closer to Buffy. Faith tensed, unsure of what she should do. Tara was going to find out that Faith wasn't really one of them if she didn't feed off of Buffy and could quickly send the warning telepathically to her master. However, Faith was reluctant to do any more damage to Buffy then she had to but in the end she knew it was necessary. She needed Buffy on her side and there was only one way to do that without alerting Tara. The thirst wasn't helping her judgment either.
Tara nodded towards Faith, while keeping her ravenous look on Buffy. Faith gave a nervous look towards Cordelia and Cordelia also nodded, but furtively towards Faith. It was almost as if they were communicating telepathically, which Buffy thought was rather odd.
"Don't worry, you'll thank us later," Tara mused as Faith stepped closer, but more hesitantly. "C'mon Faith, I know you want her….take her…" Her smile grew malicious. "She'll be yours forever."
Faith trembled with both her words and the thirst. It was just too tempting. She could nearly smell and hear the blood pumping through Buffy's veins.
However, Buffy ignored Tara's remarks and focused on Faith, her mind racing for a way to get out of this mess, but she couldn't find it in herself to move. It was like she was frozen in place, as she stared into Faith's golden eyes. It was like she was being mesmerized and a part of her wanted to give in, to be taken by this dark beauty. It almost felt like when the Master had her, only different. With the Master, she was just plain frozen in fear and his power, but with Faith and whatever creature she has become, it was different. It was like she was battling with herself whether to leave or stay. A part of her wanted to throw down with Faith, but another part, a stronger part, had a burning desire to want to stay and feel Faith near her…her mouth on her. This feeling surprised her. It was almost unnatural.
"Faith…" Buffy gasped, staring hard into Faith's golden eyes.
"Shh," Faith hushed, placing a taloned finger on Buffy's lips.
Faith's eyes were pleading, almost sorrowful, all of which shouldn't be in the eyes of a demon. Buffy's brows scrunched in suspicion and Faith gave a small nod of acknowledgement that only Buffy could notice. Faith's eyes then flicked to the side, motioning behind her. Buffy glanced over Faith's shoulder and saw that Cordelia was now behind Tara, a look of fear and apprehension clearly on her face.
What the hell is going on, Buffy thought.
Faith smirked at her, as if Buffy had said it out loud and Buffy began to speculate that they could indeed read minds. From behind them, Cordelia grabbed Tara's arms just as Faith whirled around and used a taloned hand to cut Tara's throat wide open. It was almost as if they synchronized it. Dark purplish blood sprayed out and Tara hit the floor convulsing.
Just a scratch, Faith mused silently.
"God, it worked," Cordelia muttered under her breath. She cast an apologetic look towards the blonde Slayer and turned back to help Tara.
Buffy stepped closer to Faith. "Faith…"
In seconds, Faith was gripping Buffy by her throat.
Faith shook her head in sorrow. "I'm sorry, B, I have to. I just need you to trust me."
"Trust," Buffy exclaimed incredulously.
Faith gazed into Buffy's eyes a moment longer, trying with all her might to apologize with her own eyes, before her gaze ticked down to Buffy's neck. The demon inside her nearly screamed in joy at the sight of the steady pulse. The thirst was so bad, Faith could almost feel herself lose control over the demon inside her, struggling to break free from her mental bonds and feel the spray of warm blood across its tongue.
Wicked gross, Faith thought grimly. Sorry, B, I really am. "Sorry," she muttered softly.
Faith closed her eyes and brought her lips down towards Buffy's throat. She grazed her lips over Buffy's skin, hesitating, and she felt Buffy shudder, in disgust or pleasure Faith wasn't sure. She quickly and carefully sank her long incisors into Buffy's skin. Almost immediately she felt euphoria like she never felt before. The blood that streamed into her mouth tasted so sweet, it wasn't anything like how it tasted when she was mortal. She could feel a tingling sensation from the tip of her toes to the roots of her hair, like Buffy's blood was filling her entirely. She could feel the burning thirst inside her slowly ebb down into a dull spasm, knowing full well that the hunger pang will never fully go away unless the demon within her is gone. As she drank, she felt something inside of her leave, like a small part of her just departed, but Faith was too consumed in pleasure to really focus on what it was.
After moments, Faith pushed herself off, almost immediately missing the euphoria and taste of blood. She watched Buffy sway on her feet, a lost look on her face as her eyes turned golden and fangs erupted from her parted lips. The wound on her neck almost instantly healed.
"Buffy," Faith said tentatively, her eyes returning to normal chocolate brown. "B, are you okay?"
Buffy stared at her with an odd expression on her face, like she was seeing her for the first time. "Yeah, I…I uh…I feel…different." She stared harder at Faith for a moment longer, almost as if trying to figure something out. "Faith…"
"Yeah," Faith replied, expecting a lecture of some kind.
Buffy held her gaze a moment longer, her golden eyes searching and looking almost as if she was going to ask something really important. Instead, she shook her head as if to clear the cobwebs and smiled dutifully. "Thanks."
Faith looked momentarily shocked at the expressed gratitude, but quickly covered it up with her best shit-eating grin. "Yeah, no problem. Maybe next time you could go easier on the trust issues?"
"I know I will," Tara's voice answered.
Faith and Buffy glanced down to the side where Cordelia was helping Tara up. Her wound was also healed, not even leaving a mark. She ran a hand across her neck and looked shyly up at Faith.
"S-sorry, about that," she replied shyly, her cheeks burning red with embarrassment. "I'm u-usually n-not all psycho-evil."
Faith nodded in understanding. "I am," she muttered softly. God, hopefully not anymore.
"Dammit, when this is all over, I better get a huge paycheck to cover this damage," Cordelia exclaimed, noting the shattered door and other broken bits of furniture. "I don't even have insurance!"
"So what do we do now," Tara asked, ignoring Cordelia's comment.
It seemed everything was normal, only they all felt the tug of the demon inside them, just waiting to be let free. They all had a sudden thought of how Angel must feel; to be a violent beast encased with the compassions and emotions of a human soul. Buffy suddenly clutched her stomach, unable to hold it in any longer.
"How about I get something to…drink," Buffy gasped, her features returning to normal.
Faith looked nervous and disgusted as she glanced at the other two ladies. "I don't think there's anyone left to bite."
Cordelia rolled her eyes and locked arms with Buffy, slowly ushering her to the refrigerator. "C'mon, I think I have some plasmas in the fridge." They all gaped at her in shock. "What? Angel's gotta have a stash here too! He doesn't like being left out when we have our moviefests."
* * *
The dark creature laughed amusingly on his throne. "It is done. The Slayer is now one of us. There will be no one who could stand in my way."
He turned and caressed the pale cheek of the girl who sat on his right hand, like an obedient servant or lieutenant. She placed a small hand over his huge blood-red one and savored in the touch of her master. Her golden eyes glinted maliciously yet expectantly.
"Do I get to see my sister now," Dawn asked hopefully.
The creature smiled softly for a moment, but shook his head. "No, my dear little one. I need you elsewhere. The Hellmouth is conquered. We must spread." He gestured for her to rise and she did obediently. "But first, you must obtain something very precious to me. It is located on sacred ground where our kind may not pass. Therefore, you must bring one of them." He gestured towards the far wall of his cavern. "Choose wisely."
Dawn nodded and with a blink of an eye was standing at the indicated spot. A large smile spread across her porcelain face as her eyes returned to normal and her fangs and talons sank back inside her. She stepped closer towards the wall where a familiar figure was chained against the wall. She shook the figure gently until it flinched from her touch.
"Wh-what…" Large brown eyes looked up into Dawn's familiar face. "Dawn, what are you doing here?" A chained hand reached up to touch a lump behind shaggy black hair and flinched as pain roiled through him from the movement. "Ow…what happened?"
"Xander. We need to get out of here," Dawn said in her best scared and whining voice.
Xander tried to stand with the help of Dawn. "Where exactly is here?" He tried to peer into the darkness surrounding him, but it was no use.
"I…I'm not sure," Dawn answered. "I just woke up down here and I thought I was alone, but you're here…thank goodness!"
"No one else is here?" Xander felt the chains on his wrists slacken and fall off. "Anya?"
"We're the only ones," Dawn reassured him. "C'mon…"
Xander quickly complied, eager to get out of this dark place as soon as possible. He followed behind Dawn, holding her hand for guidance. If he were to see her face right now, he would have seen a wickedly amused smile on Dawn's face and would have known better not to follow, but right now, to him, Dawn was just plain old Dawn.
Dawn glanced over her shoulder and smiled sweetly back at Xander. She knew she made a good choice in picking him. He was too stupid to figure things out until it was too late. She could always trust in good ol' Xander. Her eyes quickly darted behind him towards the wall where two other figures were still bound and unconscious; the two annoyingly British Watchers. Her smile turned cruel and wicked at the thought of what she might get to do with them later, if she pleased her master. She walked faster, careful not to drag Xander, wanting to get the deed done faster so she could have more playtime for later.
After all, Dawn thought happily. A girl's gotta have some fun.
The creature watched as Dawn led the poor guy out of the cavern. Everything seemed to be going according to plan. There were no other gods present in this dimension to interfere this time, not like the last time the tried…He shook his head, not wanting to think of that failure. Soft footsteps broke the creature out of its musings. He turned and smiled as the redheaded Wicca sauntered towards him.
"My dear," the creature said in his deep throaty voice.
Willow glanced back at the wall, where Wesley and Giles still lay unconscious. "Why does she get to have all the fun?" She relaxed lazily on the arm of the creature's throne. "I'm older."
The creature chuckled amused and stroked her fiery hair. "She is more convincing than you are, my dear. You tend to get carried away." He glanced back into the direction from which she came. "Remember to clean up after your mess. I can not stand to have a messy lair."
Willow glanced behind her at the mangled corpse of a man. "Sorry…I got a little hungry."
"Hm," the creature sighed warily.
Willow's brows knitted in concern. "Something is bothering you." She laid her head on his shoulder and stroked his chest with her taloned fingers. "Share?"
The creature grunted. "The cursed vampire…" He seemed to be in deep contemplation. "He is lost…he treads between the darkness and the light…"
Willow's head shot up from his shoulder. "Angel? You can see him?"
The creature shook his head. "No, but one of us can…"
* * *
"So let me get this straight." Cordelia sat herself on the couch and gave a scrutinizing glance at each of them. "The only reason we're not bloodsucking…whatever…is because Faith here ate something from the lesbian goddess in her dreams?" She paused, running a hand across her stomach. "But I still feel it…"
"We're still bloodsucking…whatever," Faith replied. "Just, not mentally."
"Oh…great. I've always wanted a one course meal," Cordelia muttered. A mug full of hot red blood floated up towards her and she took it gently. "Thanks, Dennis."
Faith sighed. "We still don't know what we're dealing with. What kind of beast…god…whatever this thing is and what kind of creature it turned us into."
Tara's eyes widened. "I know w-who it is. I've s-seen him when I was locked in my mind. I-it was commanding the d-demon inside me." They all stared expectantly at her. "It's Dionysus…the w-wine god."
"The wine god," Buffy said incredulously. "You mean the fat guy on the donkey in Fantasia?"
"That's just his mortal guise," Tara explained. "His true form is really d-demonic." She paused, brows knitting in thought. "He's tried this before...and f-failed. They banished him to another dimension."
Buffy snorted derisively. "Guess he's not so smart on the uptake. They never give up do they?"
"At first you don't succeed," Cordelia replied dryly. "Maybe he's stupid enough to screw things up again."
"What did he do last time," Buffy wondered. "That made him such a failure?"
Tara shrugged. "I'm not s-sure. There was this huge war…that's all I remember. Witchcraft deals in with a lot of mythology…but most of the volumes were lost after the Greek pantheon ended."
"I got an idea," Faith replied, standing up. "Why don't we just go to him and kick his red ass back to hell? Shouldn't be that hard."
"He's a god," Buffy reminded her softly, suddenly remembering Glory and all her strength. "Gods don't hurt that easily."
"So what are we going to do? You got a better idea, B? Cuz I ain't seen nothing from you yet," Faith snapped. Shit, a little too much of the old me there, Faith flinched inwardly. Gotta watch that temper. "Sorry, it's just…Diana chose me for a reason and I'd kinda hate to let her down."
"Diana?" Cordelia said puzzled.
"You know…the lesbian goddess," Faith replied.
Tara stifled a chuckle. "She's actually not…" She shook her head, not wanting to explain the whole mythos. "N-nevermind." Then her eyes widened as if she just received an epiphany. "Chosen!"
Buffy and Faith exchanged a look. "Yeah, we get that already…one girl in all the world…blah blah woof woof." Faith shrugged. "Kinda the job description."
Tara shook her head. "N-no…that's not what I meant. The Sha'Mohra Codex…the first vampire! It was a woman…one of hers!"
"Not getting it here, Blondie," Faith mumbled impatiently.
"The demon that mixed his blood with a human to make a vampire was a girl from Diana's chosen people; a tribe of women, what some may call the Amazons," Tara explained, surprised by her lack of stutter. "She got a little miffed, but rules say she can't interfere in mortal affairs. But she did choose one girl, the strongest in the tribe; to defeat those she used to call friends and family. She became the First Slayer. Not really sure where her powers came from though."
"No wonder she was so cranky and tried to kill us all in our dreams," Buffy said with soft humor. "She had to kill all those she grew up with…all those she knew and loved…"
~ "No friends! Just the kill! We…are…alone!" ~
The room grew steadily silent at this new revelation. Faith looked down at her hands, suddenly feeling a new surge of power rip through her as if rejuvenated by this bit of information, like the telling of this Slayer Lore had some power behind it. They weren't alone now. There were two of them. However, one was at her full potential while the other was in denial of using that power and simply denied the fact she had that kind of darkness within her. She glanced at Buffy and found that the blonde Slayer was staring at her thoughtfully, a hint of fear and sorrow in those hazel-green eyes.
What's that all about, Faith thought idly.
"Looks like history is about to repeat itself," Cordelia replied wryly, breaking the silence.